6 Opportunities in Ecommerce from Retail Experts - Infographic

Five tips for using behavioural analytics to combat fraud

Thursday, 29th May 2014

Fraud is becoming increasingly widespread since the dawn of ecommerce and as it becomes more and more sophisticated, we need greater visibility to fight malicious activity on our websites. Fraudsters’ warfare is based on deception, but the same data-led ideas that help us improve customer experience can be turned to unravelling fraud and disputes.

"1. Use behavioural analytics to detect suspicious customer activity

Behavioural analytics have become a vital part of meeting growing expectations of customer experience. Businesses are now able to collect and analyse vast amounts of information on why customers may have abandoned a transaction, what types of content make customers buy or convert, and how visitors behave on different devices. Analysing this data can help them understand customer behaviour and improve the quality of experiences across devices and channels."

"2. Take advantage of advanced forensic software tools that will help you replay website user sessions through the eyes the potential fraudster

Forensic investigations can explore the whole stream of data traffic, look for unusual behaviour or patterns in account numbers, IP addresses and email addresses, credit cards numbers and the items purchased. Ideally, security researchers will be able to replay malicious site visits through the eyes of the enemy."

"3. Act quickly to understand the full impact of the breach

Once a breach is discovered, businesses must act quickly to understand and be able to report on the potential full impact. Which accounts were breached? What personally identifiable information was displayed – and to whom?

Often, fraudsters do things that are not transactional in nature – i.e. there are no data changes on the backend. So, what is the harm? If personal data was obtained, this can be very dangerous because it may be used in subsequent attacks."

"4. Notify the affected parties while causing minimal disruption to the brand’s reputation

When an attack succeeds, businesses must also notify all affected parties. However, remedial action can be even more damaging. If the company doesn’t know what information was disclosed, then it has to notify its entire user base, which can be very public, embarrassing, and expensive."

"5. Continue using tools to identify potential data breaches in near real time

Identifying and understanding fraudulent activity before it gets out of hand is never easy, but businesses now have the tools they need to help them monitor all customer activity and replay customer sessions instantly as and when needed. By keeping a constant record of what is happening on your site, the scope of data breach remediation can be contained to the truly affected parties to avoid unnecessary publicity that will be a detriment to the brand."

Australian consumers reluctant to use biometric-based security measures for ecommerce

Wednesday, 28th May 2014

When it comes to using biometrics in ecommerce, Australian consumers are highly reluctant because they are concerned about the security of their personal data.

"Australians are more willing to have biometric-based security measures to verify the identity of passengers boarding aircraft at airports. Results shows that 75% of Australians mentioned they were willing to provide biometric information such as a fingerprint or photo so that an automated boarding gate could confirm their identities when they boarded a flight. Moreover, 71% of Australians said that they would be willing to provide personal biometric data to prove their identities as frequent travelers of low security risk."

"Only 33% of Australians declared they were willing to provide biometric information in order to access customised retail offers in the airport. And 63% said they were not willing to do so."

"The overall index for 2014 is 106 out of 300, down 23 points compared to the last survey in 2013. This means that Australians are considered “moderately concerned”. The top two areas of security concern for Australians are related to identity theft."

Chinese online retail sales at all-time high in 2013 - report

Wednesday, 28th May 2014

For 2013, Chinese online retail sales have exceeded those in the US, thus gaining the first place in the world for ecommerce sales.

"China’s ecommerce and delivery industry both benefited from growth between 2006 and 2013, tripling the numbers to account to USD 294 billion (CNY 1.8 trillion) in 2013. The Chinese delivery industry is currently the second largest in the world."

"In the five years starting with 2008, China’s online shopping market had a constant annual growth rate of 70%, with 70 up to 300 million online shoppers. Out of the entire retail sector, online shopping initially made up for 1.3%, then jumped at 7.4%, according to insight provided by Wind Information."

"Findings indicate there was also an increase in what concerns the frequency of online transactions. In 2012, around 54% of consumers made online purchases more than ten times, and within this percentage, those who made more than USD 800 (CNY 5,000) per month doubled from 2008 to nearly 20%."

Home ownership in Greece 'a sick joke' as property market collapses

Tuesday, 27th May 2014

According to The Guardian, Greece has suffered the second biggest property crash in the EU since the debt crisis began.

"At all hours, people call in wanting to sell or wanting to rent or wanting to expand because places now are so much cheaper. (...) Last year, there were just 3,600 sales in all of Athens – I repeat, all of Athens."

"In a market that has hit rock bottom in the maelstrom of Greece's financial meltdown, basement flats are selling for as little as €5,000 (£4,150) in the less salubrious parts of Athens. On the isle of Mykonos, cash-strapped Greek celebrities have been selling luxury villas for a song."

"Greece's social and economic crash is reflected in its property slump. Data released by Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, earlier this month showed that the country had suffered the second steepest decline in house prices after Croatia, the bloc's newest member."

"Since the outbreak of the Greek debt crisis four years ago, property values nationwide have dropped by around 32%, according to the Bank of Greece; estate agents contacted by the Guardian estimated the decline at nearer 50%."

"The situation, says Bletas, is so dire that home ownership – at nearly 87% the highest in the EU – has become cause for black humour. "The joke now doing the rounds is: if you want to punish your child, you threaten to pass on property to them," he said. "Greeks traditionally have always regarded property as a secure investment. But now it has become a huge millstone, given that the tax burden has increased sevenfold in the past two years alone.""

"At no time has there been such a glut of property on the market, according to the Hellenic Property Federation (Pomida), which reckons more than 500,000 property owners want to sell. Across Greece, about 300,000 residences are believed to be empty."

"For northern Europeans who want to buy a holiday home or a plot to develop for business, it's a golden opportunity," says Stratos Paravias, Pomida's president. "The tax burden is not so big when you have one property; it is when [like most Greeks] you have two or more."

"With the market's stagnation also being blamed for the lack of liquidity in Greece, politicians across the board are quietly hoping that non-Greeks will help save the day."

"We are in a very peculiar situation where prices are falling but the market isn't moving. If the recession eases in Europe, and foreigners start to return, it would be part of the solution to one of Greece's biggest problems."

The project has made a strategic decision to look into the real estate sector in terms of cross border sales potential. It makes sense business-wise to focus on cross-border sales of properties as this is something that is currently being pursued also at governmental level in Greece through the selling of key properties mainly for touristic exploitation by foreign investment groups.

Selling houses cross-border is not something new for Greece were Northern Europeans have been investing on retirement houses for many years now leading to the development of complete communities of foreigners in several islands and coastal areas.

However, this business was always operated by foreign real estate agents on local level (e.g. U.K.) who identified the potential very early. e-Commerce will give the opportunity to local real estate businesses to sell cross-borders smaller properties to a much wider audience, potentially leading even to an increase in pricing through bigger demand for properties which are now on a stand still.

This is were the e-Commerce "Genie" is strategically aiming to make a difference in for the real estate sector.